Instructor Training

Creating Assignments

All submissions by students are made to assignments in a Turnitin class. Assignments for a given class are created, displayed, and modified from the class homepage. To reach the class homepage, the instructor must click on the name of the class.

Note: An instructor with GradeMark or GradeBook available will be required to set a post date on an assignment. This post date and time must be after the start date but can be set before the due date of the assignment.

To create an assignment:

Click on the class to open up the class portfolio. Then click on the "Add Assignment" button on the class portfolio.

If an assignment has not yet been created in your class please continue to Step 4. If an assignment has been created select "Paper Assignment" by clicking on the radio button next to "Paper Assignment"

Click on the "Next Step" button

On the next page enter the following information:

assignment title

(optional) point value for GradeBook users

Select start and due dates for the assignment. Specific times are also selected. Students are only able to submit once the start date and time has passed. After the due date and time, students will be blocked from submitting papers unless late submissions are enabled

GradeMark and GradeBook users must select a post date for the assignment. The post date determines when marked papers or grades will be available for students to view. The post date can be set before the due date

Select whether the assignment will require Originality Reports for submissions or whether any file type can be uploaded. The default option is to "Allow only file types that Turnitin can check for originality." For assignments that do not require Originality Reports instructors can select "Allow any file type" which allows instructors to leave feedback on every file type

Click "submit" to finalize the assignment. It will appear on the class homepage. (Optional) The user may continue to the next step - "Advanced Assignment Options" - to select additional information before submitting the assignment

Advanced Assignment Options

When creating a paper assignment the user may select to view and change any of the advanced assignment options. The advanced assignment options are viewed by clicking on "Optional settings" at the bottom of the assignment creation or assignment update page.

Advanced assignment options are listed and described below. When an advanced assignment option is changed the user may also select whether or not this change should be the future default for any new assignments created. This allows the user to automatically create all new assignments with their preference of advanced options rather than manually selecting the advanced options for every new assignment.

Originality Report Options

Generate Originality Reports for submissions -

Originality Reports are by default generated for all student submissions. To not generate reports for student submissions select “no” for this option.

If the assignment is set to accept any file type Turnitin will only generate reports for the following file types:

Generate Originality Reports for student submissions -

immediately (first report is final) - Originality Reports for all submissions will be generated immediately. Students cannot resubmit papers. Submissions must be deleted by the instructor to enable resubmission.

immediately (can overwrite reports until due date) - Originality Reports for the initial submission by each student user to this assignment will be generated immediately. Students may resubmit as often as the student wishes until the assignment due date. Originality Reports for the second or subsequent submission will require a 24 hour delay before the Originality Report begins processing. Only the latest submission is available to the instructor or student. Previous versions are removed. Originality Reports will regenerate within an hour of the due date and time to allow student submissions to compare against one another within the assignment. A change in the Originality Report similarity index may result from the regeneration of the reports. This option is typically used when students are self-reviewing and revising their submissions and able to view the Originality Report. No resubmissions are allowed after the due date and time of the assignment.

on due date - Originality Reports will not be generated for any submission until the due date and time of the assignment. Students may resubmit as many times as needed until the due date and time without receiving reports. Resubmissions may not be made after the due date and time of the assignment.

Exclude bibliographic material from Similarity Index for all papers in this assignment?

This feature of assignment creation provides instructors with the ability to control the option whether bibliographic material will automatically be excluded from Originality Reports. The default is "no." Bibliographic materials can also be included and excluded when viewing the Originality Report. This setting cannot be modified after the first paper has been submitted.

Exclude quoted material from Similarity Index for all papers in this assignment?

This feature of assignment creation provides instructors with the ability to control the option whether quoted material will automatically be excluded from Originality Reports. The default is "no." Quoted materials can also be included and excluded when viewing the Originality Report. This setting cannot be modified after the first paper has been submitted.

Exclude small matches?

This feature of assignment creation provides instructors with the ability to automatically exclude small matches from all Originality Reports generated within this assignment. To exclude small matches click "yes."

Once "yes" has been clicked, the "Exclude matches by:" option window will open. Enter into either the "Word Count:" or "Percentage:" fields the numerical value for small matches that will be excluded from Originality Reports in this assignment.

Instructors can adjust the exclude small matches assignment setting at any time by clicking on the "edit" icon to the right of the assignment name. The excluding small matches feature can be adjusted within each Originality Report as well. With this feature instructors have greater control on sifting out smaller matches, allowing them to focus on larger, more problematic and suspect matches within Originality Reports.

Allow Students to see Originality Reports?

This feature of assignment creation provides instructors with the ability to control the option to allow students to see Originality Reports within each created assignment. This option gives instructors more flexibility and control when creating assignments. Select yes to allow students to see the Originality Report for the assignment. The default setting is "no."

Late Submission

An instructor can enable submissions after the due date and time. To enable late submission, use the drop down menu next to "Allow submissions after the due date?" and select "yes." The default setting is "no." When enabled, students will be able to submit papers after the due date and time has passed as long as that student has not already submitted a paper to the assignment.

Student submissions after the due date and time will be marked with red text in the date column of the submission in the assignment inbox. A student cannot overwrite a submission past the assignment due date and time, even if the late submission option is enabled.

Repository options

If the repository options are enabled for an instructor 2 or 4 options will appear within the "Submit papers to:" pull-down menu. Instructors will be able to set the "Submit papers to assignment" option to store student papers in the standard paper repository, in the institution paper repository, no repository, or to allow students to choose between the standard paper repository or the institution paper repository.

Repository Sources for Similarity Reports

The instructor is able to select the available repository sources to compare submissions in the assignment against. This allows an instructor to disregard a source type if the comparison against this type of source is not needed.

The available search targets are listed under Search options. The targets with a check mark are those that will be searched. To remove a search target repository, click on the check box to remove the check mark. Clicking on an empty selection box next to the repository will re-add the repository as a search target. This selection will not alter any currently generated Originality Reports or Overall Similarity Index scores.

Search targets

Currently available search targets are:

student paper repository - works previously submitted in classes and assignments on Turnitin

institution paper repository - a repository of student papers for the institution

current and archived internet - a repository of archived and live publicly available internet pages containing billions of pages of existing content and tens of thousands of new pages added daily

periodicals, journals, & publications - third party periodical, journal, and publication content including many major professional journals, periodicals, and business publications

GradeMark Options

Attach a rubric to the assignment

If you would like to use a rubric to grade the papers submitted to the assignment you may use the "rubric list" drop down menu to select a previously created or imported rubric or you can launch the rubric manager by clicking on the "Launch Rubric Manager" link and create a new rubric to attach to the assignment.

Enable e-rater® grammar check?

This feature of assignment creation provides instructors with the option to enable the e-rater grammar and spelling check for all submissions to the assignment. When enabled student submissions receive detailed grammar feedback in GradeMark automatically through the e-rater technology. Select "yes" to enable the e-rater engine for the assignment. If this assignment option is not available then the e-rater grammar check is disabled for the account. Contact the Turnitin account administrator to enable the e-rater grammar check for the account.

(Optional) Select the ETS handbook level from the drop down menu. The ETS handbooks provide students with in depth information about the grammar errors the e-rater technology finds in their paper.

Select the dictionary used for the spelling check.

The "Categories enabled by default" option allows instructors to choose which categories of feedback are enabled when viewing assignment submissions in GradeMark. The default is to show the feedback for every category.

Changing Advanced Assignment Option Defaults

If any changes have been made to the advanced assignment options, an additional option will be available at the bottom of the options panel. The instructor is asked "Would you like to save these options as your defaults for future assignments?" Select "yes" to have all future assignment creations use the advanced assignment options that have been selected as the default setting. Select "no" to continue with the previous default advanced assignment option settings.

The default settings can be changed at any time when creating a new assignment or updating an existing assignment.

Revision Assignments

Student users can only submit one paper per assignment. If the instructor wishes students to submit multiple drafts without overwriting the previous drafts, the instructor can create additional assignments using the revision assignment type. Revision assignments are duplicates of the ‘parent’ assignment’s advanced options and standard settings, but may have new start, due, and post dates. The revision assignment may have a different "Generate Originality Reports for student submissions" setting. The instructor may also select a different set of optional special instructions, or assign a different point value.

Creating revision assignments:

From the class home page, click on the "New Assignment" button

Select "Revision Assignment" by clicking on the radio button next to "Revision Assignment." Then click on the "Next Step" button

From the pull down menu labeled "based on paper assignment:" select the assignment this revision should be based on

(Optional) Enter a point value for the revision assignment

Select the start date, due date, and (if available) post date for the assignment. Select an option from the "Generate Originality Reports for student submissions:" drop down menu

(Optional) Enter any special assignment instructions

Two other options can be adjusted: the "generate Originality Reports for student submissions" and the "allow students to see Originality Reports?"

Click on "submit" to save this revision assignment. Revision assignments appear as sub-assignments of the main assignment on the class home page for instructors

Creating a Reflection Assignment

Reflection assignments are created to allow students to submit a paper about what they have learned during the writing process. While not part of the peer review itself, a Reflection assignment is often a good follow up to a peer review to reinforce the lessons of peer-reviewed work.

To create a reflection assignment:

Click the "New Assignment" button on the assignments page of a class

Select "Reflection Assignment" by clicking on the radio button to the left of "Reflection Assignment," Click on the "Next Step" button

Select the paper assignment that the reflection assignment will be associated with

Enter the additional information:

(optional) reflection assignment title

(optional) Point value (applies to GradeBook users only)

Assignment start, due, and post dates

(optional) Additional assignment instructions

Click "submit" to add the reflection assignment to the class homepage

The reflection assignment will stack beneath the assignment it is associated with. Students submit to the reflection assignments in the same way any normal paper submission would be made using Turnitin.

Note: Originality Reports are not generated on submissions made to reflection assignments. If the instructor user needs Originality Reports, a normal Turnitin assignment or a revision assignment should be used.